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“Todas Cuentan” (“Everyone Counts”), the platform of research on social protection and financial inclusion, is a project financed by IDRC, implemented by the Department of Economics of the Universidad de Chile, along with the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos and the Fundación Capital (through Proyecto Capital), and supported by the Ford Foundation and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada. “Todas Cuentan” is designed to help government officials and other decision makers understand the potential of linking the financial inclusion of poor households with social protection programs, so that understanding can contribute to better public policy design.

“Todas Cuentan” will evaluate the extent to which social protection programs in Latin America and the Caribbean can help households manage their resources better, increase women’s negotiating power in the household (empowerment of women), reduce poverty, and contribute to economic empowerment, asset accumulation and better risk management in the most vulnerable households by including them in the financial system (especially the opening of savings accounts). It also seeks to determine if the link between conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs and inclusion in the financial system can help beneficiaries graduate from CCT programs. The research will provide evidence about the design of mechanisms for linking CCT programs and financial inclusion, by studying incentive models and the design of financial products that respond to the needs of CCT program users. The role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) will also be evaluated.

The evaluations are designed to help researchers in Latin America and the Caribbean who work on topics related to financial inclusion and social protection strengthen their capacity to carry out impact evaluations, leveraging the joint efforts of researchers, donors and decision makers. The goal is to produce rigorous evidence about the connection between social protection and financial inclusion and formal savings, leading to policies that enhance the well-being of vulnerable families in Latin America.

Based on these goals, the project will allocate funds for experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations to research centers in the region’s countries. The complete process will consist of a call for proposals, technical assistance, a monitoring process, workshops for training and for sharing experiences, meetings with researchers and the dissemination of results.